Spectator Sper Vega was banned from all NRL matches for five years for calling Civoniceva a "f---king black monkey" at Parramatta Stadium last Sunday.

Civoniceva finally broke his silence over the incident, warning the race issue had the potential to escalate to English Premier League proportions.

"To be honest, it's not the first time and it won't be the last, unfortunately," Civoniceva told The Sun-Herald yesterday. "That's the society we live in today.

"Unfortunately there are people out there who think that way.

"With the amount of guys from different ethnic backgrounds in the game, we need to start setting the tone for what we want, the standards we need to set in our game.

"The last thing we want to end up is like in European soccer, where racism is a real issue, it casts a real dark shadow over the game.

"Hopefully we won't be talking about things like that in the future and we can get on and appreciate how good our game is."

Asked if he had been racially abused in the past by fans or rival players, Civoniceva said: "Mainly from fans."

"Certain grounds - you can ask any bloke in the competition, especially if they are Polynesian or Lebanese - there are always idiots in the crowd that talk about those kind of things."

In a further concern for the NRL, The Sun-Herald can reveal that an Origin star was racially abused by an opposition player during a match two years ago.

Vega wrote a letter of apology to Civoniceva but denied that his use of the word "monkey" was meant as a racist slur. He declined to comment when contacted during the week.

Civoniceva, one of the most respected figures in the game, said he was content with how the issue was handled and hoped the dramas would remind fans about their responsibilities.

"I knew Parramatta, Penrith and the NRL would sort it out and I was happy with the outcome," Civoniceva said. "I was happy to put it behind me.

"Unfortunately, the last thing I want to see in the papers is that kind of stuff, I want to talk about football rather than that kind of stuff.

"It's over and done with. Hopefully it will send a message to people about the standards we want in our game, that it's not acceptable."

Fellow forward Frank Pritchard described the incident as "shameful" and said there was no place for abusive fans in rugby league.

"People like that should be out of the game," Pritchard said. "If you can't go and enjoy the footy without a racial slur, that's low.

"It's pretty shameful when it happens to someone like him, someone of his calibre.

"We don't want to see people like that, nobody deserves it."

Despite a disrupted preparation - Civoniceva was given most of the week off to recover from the Origin series - he shook off the distractions to produce a trademark captain's knock in Penrith's loss to Newcastle on Friday night. The Fijian-born prop made 18 hit-ups for 137 metres and made 24 tackles. However, Panthers coach Matthew Elliott said the vilification drama might have taken some toll.

"It didn't impact upon the players, it probably impacted on 'Pet' a little," Elliott said. "It was more the fact he didn't want to deal with it, more than what the guy said.

"It's like when someone cuts you off in traffic and cuts you off like a goose, all you want to do is drive away and not have any more to do with it.

"You don't want the police ringing you for the next three days."

A bruised and battered Penrith team put a week of drama behind them with a game of lawn bowls at Gladstone Park Bowling Club yesterday.

Pritchard revealed he would probably require shoulder surgery after aggravating an injury against the Knights, but hoped he could put it off until the end of the year. He will undergo scans tomorrow.

"I went in for a tackle, I don't know who it was, but it just popped out," Pritchard said.

"I'll probably need a shoulder [reconstruction] at the end of the year. I've been delaying it for a couple of years but now is the time to get it done. It depends on the pain barrier. I don't want to play with needles all the time and damage it more."

Luke Lewis suffered rib and calf injuries but hoped to be fit for the clash with the Titans on Saturday, while five-eighth Wade Graham is in some doubt because of a groin injury.